When the amazing Magician became a Lost Boy
by samhaincat
Summary: Rather pissed that ABC canceled this gem of a show. They really don't know a good thing when they've got it. This idea popped into my head and the muse wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down. So here it is ...


**When the amazing Magician became a Lost Boy**

Kay glanced over at Cameron sitting in the passenger side. He was unusually quiet these days. It had only been a week ago that they had rescued him from jail. He had pulled a number of deceptions on the inmates and gained goods with which he bribed a guard so he could call home, he reached Gunter... Gunter immediately called her. She felt guilty that she hadn't believed Gunter at first. Her heart still ached from what she thought was her last conversation with Cam. She wasn't ready to believe it was Jonathan that pulled a Deception on her after he knocked out Cam leaving him in his place in the jail.

Her hesitation had landed Cam in the jail's infirmary. One of the inmates wanted his stuff back and a fight insured. While Cam had held his own, he slipped on the blood from the other inmate's broken nose and had been knocked out. Kay had hesitated still not believing that Cam lay pale and unconscious in front of her but Deakins had immediately issued his release. How she knew before the finger print test came back was beyond Kay. If anyone should have known it was Kay herself. Cam had been transferred to the hospital – he was fine aside from a twisted ankle and a bump on the head... Kay stayed by his side until he woke up groggy and confused. He relayed what had happened and then clammed up. When Kay told him the FBI had issued a warrant for Jonathan's arrest he remained impassive.

She tried to get him to open up how he felt numerous times but he changed the subject every time. He was quiet and withdrawn not at all his boisterous 'the amazing Cameron black' persona. She missed him. They were on their way to a house where a Russian diplomat was staying, shots had been fired. The police sirens were heard approaching rapidly. As they got out of the car Kay ordered Cam to stay put as a child staggered out of the house. Cam ran as fast as he could on his bad ankle toward the child as Kay yelled at him. Cam grabbed the child and took cover as Kay carefully approached the house as the FBI arrived. She called out the diplomats name but there was no answer. She worried she knew he had secretly agreed to talk regarding the investigation into Russian interference with the past election. She entered the house and heard a sobbing woman. She quietly moved closer. A man in black had a gun trained on the weeping woman who sat on the floor with a child in her arms. Kay yelled at him to drop his weapon, he turned quickly with his gun ready to fire but she was faster. He dropped dead to the floor.

She removed his gun and checked for vitals – there were none.

"Where is your husband?" Kay asked.

"I don't know – where is my other son, that man shot him," she said in broken English.

"He ran out, my partner has him." The woman and the other boy ran out the door with Kay in pursuit. The CIA and other FBI officials arrived. Kay ignored them for the moment to follow the woman – before she got there she heard an anguished cry as she and the other little boy dropped to the side of the injured boy. Cam must have called the paramedics because the ambulance was there.

Cam sat dazed on the pavement a few feet away, blood stained his clothes, and his breathing was laboured.

"Cam?" she dropped to his side putting her hand on his arm.

He looked up at her his eyes wild, crazed. He swallowed heavily. "He's gone, Kay. Just gone, I think he died in my arms pleading with me to tell his brother to live for both of them. " He cleared his throat. "They were twins you know. Just like Jonathan and me."

"Oh, Cam I'm so sorry. "She squeezed his arm. "I'm glad you were with him and he didn't die alone on the pavement."

Cam shook his head his voice anguished. "It doesn't really matter, does it? He's still dead and his brother doesn't have a brother anymore."

"Cam…" She tried to reach over to put her arm around him but he shook his head and bolted to his feet.

"Did you get the bastard who did this?" he snarled.

She nodded. "I shot him, he's dead."

"Good." Anger flared in his eyes along with something else. He paused briefly and regarded the woman and the brother cradling their loss. The look on his face brought tears to Kay's eyes; she quickly blinked them away and went to talk to the CIA commander who had come towards her.

When she finished she could hear Cameron yelling at someone.

"What's the point? One minute you have a brother, a twin and then in the next, he's gone. Dead or he betrays you and throws you to the wolves. I've had enough! I know I should have done more but I was a child when my father arranged all this. Johnny always supported me, he was always helping me, calming me when I panicked – he was always the better brother. I didn't appreciate that I didn't realize my actions drove him into the arms of MW and subsequently to jail. I didn't realize he hated me so much and had lost all faith in me."

Deakins firm steady voice came through the air. "Cameron, Jonathan's mistakes aren't as a result of you. He's a grown man and is responsible for his own actions. He hooked up with MW and it was a mistake just as much as what he is doing now is. You aren't to blame. "

Cam's voice responded thickly. "Of course I'm to blame, I chose Kay over my brother – he could have been free if I had gotten the evidence."

"IF you believe that then you are as much a fool as he is. MW is manipulative and a lier."

"And I betrayed my brother and now he betrayed me, I guess we're even." He chocked.

Deakin's voice softened. "Go home, Cam. You comforted a dying child tonight and you are in shock. Get cleaned up and take care of yourself."

Kay came around the copse of trees at the edge of the property to see Cameron look at Deakins with glazed eyes – he looked utterly defeated and lost. Her heart ached at the sight of him. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the stern commander do something she had never ever seen her do prior. She stepped closer to Cam and wordlessly hugged him.

Kay stepped back behind the trees not wanting to intrude. That was the most human thing she had ever seen Deakins do. And she was glad Cam had accepted it. She went around the trees again just as Deakins was coming towards her.

"Any word on where our diplomat is?"

Kay snuck a look at Cameron; he had one arm wrapped around himself and the other covering his face. "No, I'm afraid not. Apparently, he hadn't come home."

"What happened in there?"

Kay gave her a detailed account of the events that occurred from their arrival. Deakins nodded then jerked her head in Cam's direction and quietly instructed her,"go take care of him, we can debrief more later."

She nodded and walked over to Cam. "How are you doing?"

He shrugged. "I've had better days."

"Come on I'll take you home." She reached out and lightly patted his shoulder.

His eyes met hers, wide and haunted.

He took a step and cursed. She grabbed his arm steading him. "your ankle is worse."

He took a deep breath then sighed. "I shouldn't have run on it."

'Come on." She got his arm around her shoulders and wrapped hers around his waist. Just lean on me and try not to put too much weight on it."

He squeezed her shoulder. "Thanks, Kay."

He limped heavily as they made their way to the car.

"You can talk to a councilor – what you witnessed this afternoon more than entitles you to one that the FBI uses. Experiences like that are traumatizing and…"

He cut her off. "I don't need a councilor – I just need…" his voice trailed off.

"What? What do you need?"

"Sleep, a distraction, an escape from being Cameron Black." His voice broke.

"What can I do to help?" she asked wanting nothing more than to help him feel better and take that despair from his eyes.

"Can you turn the clock back so I can fix this and make my brother not hate me?" he said with a small laugh.

"Cam, when you were locked in the vault and fell unconscious Jonathan went ballistic. He would have clawed his way through the door if he could have. He was desperate not to lose you. He loves you. I suspect whatever happened between you two in his cell was more about protecting you than him suddenly hating you."

He shook his head "He thinks I betrayed him. He thinks I should have given MW the diamond in trade for the tape."

"Why didn't you?"

He looked uncomfortable.

"You can trust me – you have to know that by now."

He took a deep shaky breath. "I didn't want to get you in trouble. You trusted me, you brought me in as your consultant, and if I did something like that you might have lost your job."

She was momentarily stunned. He was thinking of her. He didn't steal it even though it meant his brother might not be exonerated because he was protecting her. She realized the magnitude of that decision. "Did Johnny know what you did?"

He laughed harshly. "Mw made sure to tell him."

"He felt betrayed."

He nodded. "Yep. Didn't want to trust me anymore even though I assured him I was on his side and would cut all ties to the FBI. I was going to break him out but…"

"But what?"

"He said he didn't want to be free with me. He wanted to cut all ties to me. He hates me, Kay. He wouldn't have knocked me out – he's never hurt me – he's always protected me. He thinks I don't care. He's broken free from me and punished me by having me take his place in his cell."

"I suspect he's gone after MW and didn't want you involved. Since you got involved you were almost suffocated, electrocuted, and she's threatened to shoot you numerous times."

"You didn't see the look in his eyes, Kay. He reminded me of our father when he was determined to do something and to hell with the consequences. He and MW share some kind of connection and he goes back to Reykjavik. I got sick on the tour and was left behind. Something happened in Reykjavik that he's never talked about or maybe didn't remember. He was there without me and maybe that's key to it all. He's happier without me. I took all the fame and glory, I got all the attention. Our father always treated me better than him yet he always protected me and kept me safe. I'm the one who's a failure as a brother and he's finally realized that."

Kay sighed. "Enough. You put your life on hold to try and rescue him and prove his innocence. You could have just left him in jail and gone on with your life and tried to rebuild your career, instead, you came to me and the FBI for help in proving his innocence. Whatever mistake's you might have made none were intentional. You did everything you could to help him and almost succeeded if the FBI hadn't caved into MW's bargain. That was not your fault. You can't blame yourself for it."

He studied his hands. "You know when I woke up in the cell panic washed over me. I couldn't believe I was trapped in jail. I now know how he must have felt every time we got him out and forced him back." He voice grew faint at the end.

Guilt, he was wrapped up in guilt. Perhaps a little anger as well but guilt was weighing him down – Jonathan had done a number of him with the help of MW.

They arrived at his place. She helped him out of the car and into the building. He was about to head to the sofa.

"No, I want you in bed."

He looked startled then a little mischievous grin formed on his face. "Kay, you are full of surprises, is this your way of distracting me?"

"Very funny," she responded and found herself blushing. She quickly turned away from him and headed towards the fridge. "You must have some frozen peas or a bag of ice we can put on your ankle. " She rummaged around the frozen pizzas. "Ah ha, frozen corn that will do nicely."

She went back to where she had left him standing and helped him into the bedroom. A king sized bed stood in the center. "You need to get out of those clothes."

He looked down at himself and realized he was covered in dried blood. He froze as the memories washed over him.

She saw it happen and quickly went to his side and started unbuttoning his shirt. "No wise cracks about me undressing you." She glanced at him.

He skin was clammy and pale. "I don't feel so good."

She looked around the room and saw a long empty ice-cream container that held wands, quickly emptied it out and handed it to him just as he threw up. She handed him paper towels as he finished and dumped the container down the toilet.

"Better?" She brushed the damp hair off his forehead.

He nodded. "Sorry, that came out of nowhere."

"Not really, you're in shock and seeing the blood brought it all back." She quickly grabbed his shirt and took it out of the room.

He was lying flat on the bed with his legs still hanging off the end when she came back.

"No no not yet come on – a shower will help. " she didn't mention that there was blood on his pants as well – she didn't want him getting sick again. She leaned over him and undid his belt, button, and zipper.

He bolted into a sitting position. "Kay, I can undress myself."

"I have no doubt but cooperate with me this time. Lie down and I'll pull them down and then let's get you into the shower."

He hesitated.

"Now." She growled.

He frowned at her. "I didn't know you were this bossy." He lay down as she pulled off his shoes, then his pants. She left his blue boxers on as pulling those off would have been too much too soon.

She took the bloody clothes and shoes to the laundry room, turned the shower on in the bathroom and found him on his feet by the bed. His pained expression revealed to her that his ankle still caused him a fair bit of pain. She helped him to the shower. He peered at her. "Are you coming in with me?"

She blushed again "no, I'm sure you can handle the rest by yourself. Just make sure you hang onto the bars to take the weight off your ankle. I'll get the bed ready; call me when you are done."

He started sliding his boxers off as she quickly bolted out of the room.

She turned down the bed, fluffed his pillows. She added a pillow to the foot of the bed to elevate his bad ankle. She found some pajamas and a robe and laid them on the bed. He was in the shower for a while she finally heard the water turn off and heard her name softly spoken.

She headed in. He had a towel tied around his waist. He looked at her. "Ready'.

His eyes were reddened, she wondered if he had gotten shampoo in them or if the child dying in his arms hit him hard and he allowed his emotions to take over while in the shower.

She slipped under his arm and helped him to the bed. "I'm going to get the frozen corn while you change. "

He was quiet and just reached to grab the pajama bottoms.

When she came back to the bedroom he was lying on the bed clad only in the pajama bottoms. He had elevated his ankle on the pillow she provided. She had wrapped the frozen corn in a thin kitchen towel and applied it the swollen ankle. He watched her and uttered a soft "thank you." He sniffed periodically.

"You okay?"

"yeah yeah, just got some water up my nose in the shower." He explained awkwardly.

She brought him a box of tissues. "Here you can blow your nose."

"Thanks." He proceeded to do so as she climbed on the bed to sit cross-legged in front of him.

"Where are Gunter, Dina, and Jordan?"

"They are working on a gig – helping out in a nearby theatre. They won't be home till late. If you need to go I'll be fine here by myself."

She shook her head. "Not yet if that's okay with you."

He reached over and fluffed a pillow and beckoned her to lie down. "might as well make yourself comfortable then. I'm feeling pretty tired don't take it personally if I start snoring."

She laughed. "I won't. You should get some sleep. After what happened I don't comfortable leaving you alone. I'll go home once the others show up."

"Thanks for helping me out – goes above and beyond."

She sighed as she lay down next to him. "I feel guilty you know. I didn't believe Gunter when he called to say you were the one in jail and Jonathan had escaped."

He propped himself up on one elbow and looked at her. "Why didn't you believe him?"

She peered at him. "Because I thought you and I had had a conversation prior to you leaving. Turns out of course it was Jonathan pretending to be you."

His eyes narrowed. "What did he say while pretending to be me?"

"Just that he had lost faith in the FBI, that he visited you in jail and that it didn't go well. I tried to get him to promise me that this wasn't last time we'd see each other but he said no more promises."

"I see. When I had gone to see him in jail I said I was through with the FBI."

"were you through with me as well? You wouldn't have stayed in touch?"

"Um… I don't know. Jonathan asked if I was through with you as well and I said yes but…"

"But what?" she probed.

He sighed. "Look Kay I was angry at you and Deakins. I know it wasn't your fault but the FBI just let MW walk without insisting on turning the evidence to free Jonathan over. "

"I get that. I would have insisted it was turned over before she walked but I don't have that kind of power and neither does Deakins. "

"So I wasted all that time working with the FBI in the hopes I could free Jonathan."

"I suppose you could look at it that way. I thought we had at least formed some kind of friendship but perhaps I was mistaken," she said casually.

"No…you weren't mistaken. Look I was just angry and disappointed and felt horribly guilty that all I did was for nothing and Johnny was still in jail. I know you did everything you could and I don't regret us working together. I just wish it had turned out differently." He looked at her with sincerity in his gaze.

"Fair enough."

He suddenly sat up taking an agitated breath.

She sat up as well. "What's wrong?"

His eyes were wide and desperate. "The little boy just before he died told me to tell his brother to live for both of them. I didn't do that – I didn't tell him. I have to go find him…" He swung his legs off the bed.

Kay grabbed his arm. "Cameron, it's late. We don't know where they are. We'll find them in the morning and you can tell him then. "

"How could I forget to do that?" He looked so upset that she impulsively wrapped her arms around his neck. "You were in shock, they were in shock it wouldn't have been the right time. He probably wouldn't have even heard you. "

Cam's arm wrapped around her waist and he laid his head against hers. She could feel his heart beating rapidly. She stroked his hair while assuring him it would all be okay. She felt the tension ease from his body and reluctantly pulled back. They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment then smiled and lay back down on the bed.

"It's going to be okay, Cam. I won't make any more promises because I don't have the power to enforce them but I will do my best to get Jonathan back to you and put MW away for good. " She held her hand out to him hoping with every fiber in her being he would take it.

"I'm glad you are in my life, Kay." He took her hand and squeezed it.

Just then they heard Dina, Gunter, and Jordan enter the building.

"Please stay, I would much rather have you in my bed keeping an eye on me than Gunter," he whispered.

Kay laughed softly. "Done deal."

The End


End file.
